DPRK marks 75th anniversary of Kim Jong Il's birth

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DPRK leader Kim Jong Un visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on Thursday to mark the 75th anniversary of the birth of his father and late DPRK leader, Kim Jong Il.

Kim Jong Un visits the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on the anniversary of the birth of late leader Kim Jong Il./Reuters Photo

DPRK’s state-run television, Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), showed a video of Kim Jong Un along with the country’s high-ranking officials, walking into the palace where the embalmed bodies of former leaders lie, and bowing to the statues of late leader Kim Jong Il and DPRK founder Kim Il Sung.

Kim Jong Il died on December 17, 2011. His birthday, February 16, which is now a national holiday, has also been designated as "the Day of the Shining Star."

While the country is celebrating the anniversary of Kim Jong Il's birth, overseas the investigation into the death of Kim Jong Nam, the eldest son of the late leader, continues.

DPRK ambassador to Malaysia Kang Chol (C) leaves a morgue at Kuala Lumpur General Hospital where Kim Jong Nam's body is being held for an autopsy in the Malaysian capital, February 15, 2017. /Reuters Photo‍

Reports of Kim Jong Nam’s dramatic death shocked the world on Monday. He is believed to have been murdered by two women when he was boarding a plane for Macao at Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur airport.

Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi confirmed on Thursday that the man who died was Kim Jong Nam.

He also said Malaysia will return the body of the half-brother of the DPRK’s leader at Pyongyang's request, although there are "procedures to be followed," referring to an autopsy.

Surveillance footage showed two female suspects at the airport before the murder. Police have now arrested three suspects including two women and a man in connection with the death of Kim Jong Nam. The two women hold Vietnamese and Indonesian travel documents, while the man is a 26-year-old Malaysian national, according to Xinhua.